The present invention relates to a cover for preventing contamination of an operating portion of an endoscope for covering the operating portion of the endoscope such that the operating portion is not contaminated in using the operating portion.
In order to prevent infection from patient to patient via an endoscope from being brought about, it is preferable to cover an operating portion of the endoscope such that the operating portion is not contaminated.
Hence, there is a constitution in which an operating portion is used in a state of being enveloped by a cover in a sheet-like shape as shown by, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 325138/1992, a constitution of enveloping a total of an operating portion by forming a cover enveloping the operating portion in a bag-like shape as shown by Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 68708/1994 and the like.
1) In an operating portion of an endoscope, generally, a bending operating member for bending a bending portion formed at an inserting portion by remote operation, is projected sideways from an operating portion body and even in the case of an operating portion enveloped by a cover for preventing contamination, it is necessary to operate to rotate the bending operating member around an axis.
However, when the bending operating member is enveloped by the cover, the bending operating member is operated to rotate from an outer side of the cover and therefore, there is a drawback of significantly restricting operation of the bending operating member to thereby deteriorate bending operation performance (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 68708/1994).
Further, when a bending operating shaft is projected to outside of a cover from a hole formed at the cover and a bending operating knob is made to be attachable and detachable to and from the shaft in order to prevent the bending operation performance from being deteriorated, attachment and detachment and cleaning and disinfection of the bending operating knob become troublesome and further, there is a concern of making a dirty solution invade inside of the cover from the hole portion to thereby contaminate the operating portion (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 325138/1992).
Hence, it is an object of the invention to provide a cover for preventing contamination of an operating portion of an endoscope capable of firmly preventing contamination of an operating portion by enveloping the operating portion of an endoscope along with a bending operating member and capable of achieving excellent bending operation performance when the endoscope is used.
2) In the case of the related-art cover for preventing contamination of the operating portion of the endoscope, in any cases, an operator holds the operating portion by gripping the operating portion from an outer face of the cover and therefore, the hand does not become accustomed to the operating portion, and there is a case in which the operating portion is moved unintentionally in the hand during inspection by the endoscope or the operating portion is slipped off from the hand.
Further, since the hand of the operator for holding the operating portion from the outer face of the cover is contaminated by the inspection by the endoscope and therefore, there is a case in which the operator cannot touch peripheral apparatus by the hand or the operator cannot hang the endoscope on an hanger after finishing the inspection, which is considerably inconvenient.
Hence, it is another object of the invention to provide a cover for preventing contamination of an operating portion of an endoscope by which an operator can stably hold an operating portion of an endoscope and the hand of the operator holding the operating portion is not contaminated.
3) According to the related-art cover apparatus for preventing contamination of the operating portion of the endoscope, an air feed and water feed operating valve and a suction operating valve communicated and connected to an air feed and water feed path and a suction path are entirely enveloped by the cover along with a total of the operating portion.
The air feed and water feed operating valve or the suction operating valve or the like is generally constructed by a constitution in which a path switching member in a piston-like shape is extractably and retractably arranged at inside of a cap in a shape of a cylinder connected with a base end of the air feed and water feed path or the suction path.
Therefore, for example, a dirty solution invades, for example, inside of the cap of the suction operating valve via the inside of the suction path and there is a concern that when a seal of the switch valve is malfunctioned even slightly, the dirty solution leaks out from the gap into the cover, and the operating portion is contaminated.
Hence, it is yet another object of the invention to provide a cover apparatus for preventing contamination of an operating portion of an endoscope which is hygienically highly safe with no concern of contaminating the operating portion even when a dirty solution is leaked from a cap arranged to the operating portion by being communicated and connected to a path opened to a front end of an inserting portion.
4) Generally, in an endoscope inspecting room, a clean endoscope before use is brought into a state of holding an operating portion thereof at a holding member such as an endoscope hanger or the like to be able to use immediately after preparing a patient.
However, when the related-art cover for preventing contamination of an operating portion is covered on the operating portion, it is necessary to remove the operating portion from the operating portion holding member and therefore, there is a concern of contaminating or destructing an inserting portion at that occasion.
Hence, it is still another object of the invention to provide a cover for preventing contamination of an operating portion of an endoscope capable of easily covering the operating portion of the endoscope in a state of being held by an operating portion holding member.